Love's Suicide (Love's Suicide #1)(129)
February 14th 2014
“Mama, I want to get my dress on now.” B was holding her little white dress about three inches from my face. Since my eyes were still trying to adjust from being woken up, I backed up more on the bed and looked at the clock. When I noticed that it read five, and glanced at the window that proved it was in fact still dark outside, I threw my hands over my face as I spoke.
“B, it’s not time to wake up yet, sweetie. How about you hop in bed with me for a while, at least until the sun comes up?”
When the bed didn’t move I sat up and looked for her. Still standing in the same place, B was steady staring at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“I want Daddy.” She put her hands on her hips, allowing the dress to touch the hardwood floor.
“Honey, Daddy is next door, remember?”
“I want to go there!”
I sat all the way up in bed and looked across the room at my wedding dress that was hanging up. As much as I thought it wasn’t necessary, Brooks was adamant about sticking to traditions. He’s spent the night at his parents with strict orders not to see me until we were standing at the arbor that he and his father built in the back yard.
Since moving back to my childhood house, and selling the one in South Carolina, we’d taken down the small fence that once separated the yards. Brooklyn liked being able to run from our house to her grandmother’s every morning.
“Mama, please. I want my Daddy.”
“B, it’s night time.”
She started crying, whining and flailing her arms around, as if her whole existence depended on seeing her father at that very moment. I rolled my eyes, realizing that she’d probably go back to sleep if she were with him. After grabbing my cell phone off of the bedside table, I dialed his number. He answered on the first ring, sounding extremely alert.
“Hey, babe. Don’t you dare beg me to come over there. You know the rules.”
“I’m calling on behalf of your daughter. She’s up and insisting on being with you.”
“I’m in the kitchen. If you promise to stay in bed, I’ll come get her.”
“I hate that you wake up before the sun rises.”
He laughed on the other end of the phone. I could hear the sound of his parent’s door as it opened and shut. “Do you miss me yet?”
I looked over at B, who was still waiting for a reply as to when she could go be with Brooks. “He’s coming.”
She ran for the door, dragging the dress behind her. I hadn’t noticed it before, but she’d already put on her dress shoes and they loudly clanked against the hard floor as she moved.
“She’s on her way down to you.”
I heard the back door open and close and then heard his voice, both on the phone and muffled from downstairs. “Stay put until you hear me leave.”
“The answer is yes.”
“To which question?”
“Both. I will stay put, but also that I missed you. I hate knowing you’re that close and I can’t see you. How much harm can one kiss do?”
“I don’t want to find out. In a few hours you’ll be my wife, and then you can spend forever kissing me. Just so you know, I’ll expect morning breath kisses, coffee kisses, and every other kind of kiss that you find gross. Now’s the time to back out, Kat. When you say forever today, you better mean it.”
I laughed, knowing he was joking. There was nothing in my life that I’d been more sure of than wanting to be his wife. “I’m ready to take the plunge. How about we just call the official right now, get him over here, and have them marry us so we can go back to bed for the rest of the day?”
“You didn’t sleep either?”
I shrugged, even though he couldn’t see me. When I heard heavier feet walking up the stairs I got excited. His voice didn’t startle me as I noticed the line had gone dead and he was talking from outside of the bedroom. “I couldn’t get comfortable.”
“Me either. Listen, its a couple more hours. Get all dolled up for me and meet me out back. I can’t wait to see you, Kat. You’re going to look so perfect.”
“I’m going to look fat. You better say a prayer that this dress still fits me. I haven’t tried it on for two weeks, and I swear I’ve gained ten more pounds.”
“Being four months pregnant will do that, but just to be clear, you’re not fat. You’re beautiful.” His statement gave me butterflies. “Imagine if you would have gotten pregnant over the summer. Then you’d be huge,” he teased.
I laughed and let my head drop back down on my pillow. “Are you just going to stand at the door all morning torturing me?”
He tapped twice before he spoke. “I came up to tell you that I love you. I’ll see you in bit.”
I heard him going back down the stairs before waiting for my reply. I suppose Brooks didn’t need to hear it back. He’d always known it, even when I couldn’t admit to myself.
Once I heard the kitchen door shut, I cuddled up with Brooks’ pillows and felt comfortable. Before I fell asleep I thought about my future with Brooks and our children. It was hard not to smile, even if it was for my own benefit. I had more than I could dream of and through the enduring pain that I’d put myself and the people around me through, somehow we’d found our way back to each other.